Summary
“All Best Intentions” lives up to its title, with a slew of understandable but nonetheless bad decisions being made by virtually everyone.
This recap of Sweet Magnolias season 1, episode 1, contains spoilers. You can check out our thoughts on the previous episode by clicking these words.
Check out our spoiler-free season review.
It’s official! Maddie and Cal are together, the spa is open, and Annie drunkenly confessed her love to Tyler. Wait… what? Let’s break down the aftermath.
Maddie
Maddie begins Sweet Magnolias episode 6 on cloud nine since she and Cal are serious and open enough to be kissing now. That also means that they’re too open for Maddie not to tell Tyler — he isn’t exactly thrilled about it, but ultimately wants his mother to be happy.
Tyler has enough on his mind anyway. He’s far too flippant about Annie’s romantic voice note and before long Jackson, as deeply unpleasant a character as has been seen on TV in ages, has forwarded the file to everyone. Both are mortified but Annie especially reacts badly; CeCe, on the other hand, sees it as something of an opportunity.
As though things couldn’t get any worse for Tyler, Bill and Noreen ask the kids to be a part of their wedding; Bill even wants Ty to be his best man. After a touching conversation, Maddie really comes through with her support, and Carson Rowland does good work here.
Dana Sue
Annie experiences her first hangover in “All Best Intentions”, and it’s not at all aided by Dana Sue braying on the door and demanding that she go to church. It’d be bad enough without her having to live with the embarrassment of having kissed and then confessed some serious feelings for Tyler. Oops.
I, for one, had no idea that Noreen orders lunch from Dana Sue’s restaurant, but she justifies it as simply cravings and you don’t argue with a pregnant woman. While she’s there, though, she starts experiencing sharp pains from the baby, and Chef Erik once again has to display his magical healing expertise.
What’s the deal with Erik’s background? He’s clearly nursing some kind of unspecified trauma since he also elects to join the veteran’s group despite not being a veteran. When he catches Isaac snooping, he presses him, and Isaac reveals that he’s looking for his birth parents. He’s adopted and he thinks Erik might be his father.
Helen
Helen visits the school in Sweet Magnolias episode 6 for a mock trial exercise and immediately makes her presence felt by taking some wind out of CeCe’s sails. But it turns out CeCe is pretty good at the whole debate thing.
Of course, though, she’s reluctant. Why not show there’s more to her than boys and clothes and snark?
Meanwhile, Ryan wants Helen to spend a weekend in Chicago with him… but maybe she has options closer to home?
